When flexible printing plates, such as photopolymer plates, are mounted to print cylinders, a high degree of accuracy of the mounting of the plate to the cylinder is necessary so that the plate image is properly aligned, or registered. Extremely accurate standards must be followed in affixing the plate to the cylinder or the images on the finished work will be blurred and overlap.
One method of registration of the printing plate to the plate cylinder is by exacting hand work; however, this type of lay up is extremely time consuming and expensive.
To assist in applying the printing plate to the cylinder, some methods employ plate drills which form precisely positioned holes in the plate. The work is pinned through the holes to a mounting bar which is then used to connect the plate to the plate cylinder.
The CYREL Registration System of Dupont is directed toward a particular film and plate drill apparatus and a registration bar which fits on the plate cylinder and is used to apply the printing plate to the cylinder. This system is complex and expensive and the present system provides advantages of speed and economy over the CYREL Registration System.
One advantageous registration system is the subject matter of two pending patent applications of the present inventor, U.S. application Ser. No. 857,149, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,248, and an U.S. Divisional Patent application of Ser. No. 857,149. The patent applications are directed to a plate drill apparatus and a registration plate table respectively. This invention provides a related device within the same general concept of these earlier applications.
Although the present apparatus can be used in conjunction with any flexible printing plate, it is particularly advantageously used in connection with photopolymer printing plates, such as made by Dupont and other manufacturers.